1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a child safety seat adapted to be securely mounted on an adult vehicle seat, and more particularly, to a child safety seat which can be mounted more securely on an adult vehicle seat than a conventional child vehicle safety seat, and to a kit with which a conventional child safety seat can be retrofitted for more secure mounting to a vehicle seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
The sudden stopping of a vehicle, such as during a frontal automobile collision, frequently results in injury or fatality if a passenger is not securely restrained. That is, if the rate of deceleration of the passenger is less than the rate of deceleration of an automobile cabin, the passenger continues traveling until he collides with, e.g., the vehicle windshield.
In order to restrain passengers in their seats, vehicles such as automobiles and airplanes are provided with passenger restraints such as lap belts and shoulder belts to restrain adult passengers in the seat and prevent undesired forward travel. These adult restraints are, however, completely unsuited for the restraining of infants or children.
Recently, vehicles have been designed with child safety seats built directly into the rear seat of the automobile. However, the preinstalled child seats are designed for only one size child, so that the seat may be too large for a small child or too small for a large child. Thus, at some point the owner of such a vehicle will have to install an after-market child seat. Further, all previous conventional vehicles have had no built-in child safety seats, and have required the vehicle operator to install a special child vehicle safety seat for the infant or child passenger. Given the wide variety of automobiles and adult seat constructions, the only common means for attachment of the child safety seat to the adult seat was by means of existing adult seat belts.
However, seat belts are not adapted for securely restraining a child vehicle safety seat on an adult vehicle seat. The seat cushion portion and the seatback portion of the adult vehicle seat are sprung and upholstered for the comfort of the adult passenger. No matter how tightly a child vehicle safety seat is fastened by means of a seat belt, the intense forces generated during a vehicle collision or sudden stop will merely cause the relative forward motion of the child safety seat to translate into compression of the seat springs as the child safety seat pivots forward about the pivot point dictated by the seat belt. The sudden return of the child safety seat from the forward sprung position to the rest position is a further hazard, causing whip-lash of the child. The forgoing presumes that the child safety seat is properly installed. However, due to the difficulty of properly installing a child safety seat, the child safety seat is frequently installed improperly or installed with slack, and in such cases the risk of harm is even greater.
A recent study by vehicle safety experts has shown that a large number of injuries and even deaths to children has resulted from either the improper securing of child vehicle safety seats in the vehicles, or the inability of the properly installed child safety seat to prevent whip-lash. There is thus a need for an improved means for securing a child vehicle safety seat in a vehicle.
A study of the child safety seat art shows that a large number of child safety seats have been proposed, but that few are capable of restraining forward motion of the seatback of the child safety seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,285 (Sinnhuber) teaches a child vehicle safety seat having a downwardly-pointing front portion for engaging with the main frame of the vehicle seat, and an upper rear portion for linking with the headrest which is supported on the backrest of the vehicle seat. Although the invention makes possible the secure mounting of the child vehicle safety seat on the vehicle seat, the secure mounting is only possible where the vehicle seat is manufactured with a special hook portion projecting from the main frame of the vehicle seat such that the child vehicle seat can be mated thereto. Further, this seat can not be used in automobiles which do not have a headrest with supports in the precise location for mating with the upper rear portion of the child safety seat for linking with the headrest. Accordingly, the child vehicle safety seat of Sinnhuber is not adapted for use with conventional vehicle seats which do not have these special mating portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,548 (Briner) teaches a child vehicle safety seat comprising a seat portion and a mounting frame portion, the frame being configured to be suspended or hung over the back of an auto seat, the seat portion being attached to the frame in a manner to allow relative movement between the seat and frame so that in the event of a collision the high deceleration forces of the seat can translate into forward moving forces, thus protecting the occupant from injury from impact. The child vehicle safety seat may also be laid down so that the child is in a prone position for sleeping. The seat is, however, disadvantageous in that the feature which allows for relative forward movement of the child seat with respect to the frame requires that the seat belt attachment to the child seat not restrain or incumber the sliding movement of the seat. It thus becomes impossible to securely fasten the child vehicle safety seat to the automobile vehicle seat by means of the seat belt. Further, the frame is specifically dimensioned for a particular vehicle seat and is not adjustable to securely fit a range of vehicle seats. Finally, the child vehicle safety seat of Briner has a completely different design from conventional child safety seats, and there is no suggestion of a means by which existing child vehicle safety seats can be retrofitted or remanufactured for improved safety.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,172 (Davis) teaches a vehicle safety seat including adjustable length strap means which may be used to vary the height of the seat part. A child safety harness is attached to the safety seats and straps and buckles are provided to secure parts of the seat to the chair seat and backrest. However, the securing of the child vehicle safety seat to the back rest portion of the vehicle seat with straps is not an effective means of securing the seat in view of the padding of the upholstery of the vehicle seat, the stretchability of straps, the give inherent in a buckle, and the fact that the forward movement of the vehicle seat during deceleration is perpendicular to the direction of securing of the straps.
While the above mentioned patents are representative of the designs which have been developed to provide child vehicle safety seats, each clearly has inherent problems, limitations and disadvantages. Accordingly, there remains a need for a means for securely and rigidly fastening a child vehicle safety seat to a vehicle seat such that forward motion of the backrest portion of the child vehicle safety seat is effectively arrested.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a child seat capable of being easily and quickly installed in an automobile.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a kit with which existing child vehicle safety seats can be modified for improved safety.